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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NEW DELHI 000181 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NP, AC, PM 
 
STATE FOR INR/MR 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU 
 
STATE FOR AID/APRE-A 
 
USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: SPECIAL REPORT: INDIAN MEDIA COVERAGE OF STATE 
OF THE UNION ADDRESS 
 
SUMMARY:  President Barack Obama's January 27 State of 
the Union address received extensive coverage in 
India's print and electronic media. While most leading 
newspapers have yet to react editorially, the 
President's remarks that it is time to end tax breaks 
to American outsourcers was received very negatively. 
Although Indian industry itself seemed composed, the 
media expressed fears of damage to India's outsourcing 
industry. The media also feared repercussions for India 
from the President's remarks regarding US withdrawal 
from Afghanistan, the energy and climate change bill, 
and securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the 
world. Headlines and synopses of news reports and 
opinion from Indian's leading press follow.  This 
report incorporates input from New Delhi and the four 
Consulates General in India. END SUMMARY 
 
"OBAMA-SPEAK: HELLO, WAR ON RECESSION; GOODBYE, WAR ON 
TERROR" 
 
¶1. "Amid talk of fading allure and promises not kept, 
an embattled President Obama, bruised by economic, 
political, and foreign policy crises in his first year 
in office, has pledged to stop US companies from taking 
jobs overseas and warned Americans about increasing 
competition from China and India," India's leading 
daily THE TIMES OF INDIA said. 
 
¶2. The paper's Washington correspondent Chidanand 
Rajghatta said, "As has now become the norm, the 
President invoked the growth of China and India to gee 
up the home constituency on the economic front." 
President Obama also set a target of doubling US 
exports over the next five years, a goal that will 
inevitably bring pressure on countries such as India to 
open its markets, warned Rajghatta. 
 
¶3. Pointing out that very little of the speech was 
devoted to foreign policy, the report said: "In sharp 
contrast to the many Bush speeches, he mentioned the 
word terror or terrorists only twice in his speech; 
there were nearly 50 references to jobs and economy, a 
clear indication of where the Obama administration's 
emphasis will be in the remaining three years of its 
term." 
 
"OBAMA TARGETS OUTSOURCING, WANTS US JOBS" 
 
¶4.  A news report in THE INDIAN EXPRESS said the 
President's "rhetoric once again sent shivers down the 
[Indian] industry's spines, as the US market accounts 
for close to 60 per cent of its revenues." His 
statement "may not impact the Indian outsourcing 
industry immediately. However, as a reiteration of his 
administration's policy direction, it could spur the 
domestic IT & ITeS sector's ongoing efforts to broaden 
the geographic horizon of its business," the paper 
said. 
 
"OBAMA RAISES BOGEY ON OUTSOURCING AGAIN " 
 
 
NEW DELHI 00000181  002 OF 004 
 
 
¶5. Immediate reactions from India's information 
technology firms suggest that there is little cause for 
worry, THE BUSINESS STANDARD economic daily reported. 
They believe that outsourcing is here to stay since 
recession-hit US firms need to cut costs, for which 
they have to offshore to low-cost destinations like 
India, the paper noted. 
 
"BUCK UP, INDIA IS COMING: OBAMA" 
 
¶6. A report in THE HINDUSTAN TIMES pointed out that, 
"This is the first time India has been mentioned as an 
economic challenge in a US State of the Union address. 
The last time India was cited was in 2002 - when George 
W Bush invoked it as an ally against terrorism." 
 
¶7. In a strategic analysis of the speech, the paper 
said: "Though foreign policy was relegated to the end 
of the speech, Obama threw up some issues that will 
concern New Delhi. First, he explicitly spoke of 
bringing back US troops from Afghanistan starting July 
next year. India sees any US withdrawal from 
Afghanistan - that may allow the Taliban to takeover - 
as inimical to its interests. Second, Obama promised to 
pass a U.S. climate change bill. This is likely to 
result in renewed pressure from the West on countries 
like India and China to fix carbon emission targets, a 
move they are presently resisting. Finally, Obama again 
committed himself to launching a worldwide program to 
secure nuclear materials worldwide.  India will watch 
to see if this policy will include finalizing the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Fissile Materials 
Cutoff Treaty." 
 
"US TARGETS OUTSOURCERS BY ENDING TAX BREAKS" 
 
¶8. In a report, the DAILY NEWS & ANALYSES newspaper 
said President Obama's "aggressive bid to revive the 
stagnant US job market may be bad news for India's 
expanding IT-BPO sector." Rajiv Khanna, president of 
the India-America Chamber of Commerce, told the paper's 
Washington correspondent: "You don't create economic 
prosperity in the US by destroying the global 
competitiveness of American companies." The Indian 
software services industry body NASSCOM's vice- 
president, Ameet Nivsarker, told the paper: "I think 
the concerns we have is about indirect protectionism." 
 
"INDIAN COMPANIES UNFAZED BY OBAMA'S ANTI-OUTSOURCING 
CALL" 
 
¶9. Som Mittal, president of NASSCOM, told THE ECONOMIC 
TIMES business daily in Bangalore that President Obama 
has several short- and long-term pressures to cope 
with, but that does not mean any significant impact for 
the outsourcing industry. "We will be their solution 
and not the problem," he was reported saying. The paper 
reported on experts in India saying such protectionist 
measures are short-sighted because many US companies 
derive significant revenues from outside the country, 
and any protectionist stance could lead to a backlash 
 
NEW DELHI 00000181  003 OF 004 
 
 
in other markets. 
 
NEWS HEADLINES 
 
¶10. India's regional and vernacular newspapers ran wire 
stories from Washington. While the reporting was 
straightforward and objective, the slant was in the 
headlines. Some "commentative" headlines follow: 
 
-- "Obama fury once again on outsourcing" - DAINIK 
JAGRAN Hindi daily 
-- "Obama impatient on outsourcing: Nervous of Rising 
India" - NAVBHARAT TIMES Hindi daily 
-- "Obama shakes up India on outsourcing" - AMAR UJALA 
Hindi daily 
-- "Obama roars at companies that outsource" - JANSATTA 
Hindi daily 
-- "Wake up America before India and China take over" - 
LOKSATTA Marathi daily 
-- "Obama Raj: Jobs only for the sons-of-the soil" - 
LOKMAT Marathi daily 
-- "If one were to cross line drawn by Obama....Tax, 
subsidy exemptions cut" - EENADU Telugu daily 
-- "Obama vows to repeal law that denies military jobs 
to gays" - ETEMAAD URDU DAILY 
-- "Obama: Iraq War Ending, All Troops Coming Home" - 
SIASAT Urdu daily 
-- "Obama vows to keep pressure on Al Qaeda" - HINDU 
BUSINESS LINE English daily 
-- "U.S. troops will withdraw from Iraq in August: 
Obama" - DAILY THANTI Tamil daily 
-- "One out of Ten American is jobless:  Obama" - 
DINAMALAR Tamil daily 
-- "Jolt to Indian IT sector: Tax breaks to be cut for 
outsourcing - Obama" - DINAMANI Tamil daily 
-- "Once again Obama shows nervousness about India" - 
KANNADA PRABHA Kannada daily 
-- "Hunter trapped in own trap; Atomic arms fear mounts 
on Uncle Sam" - HAMARA SAMAJ Urdu Daily 
-- "Obama casts angry look on India" - RASHTRIYA SAHARA 
Urdu Daily 
-- "Obama promises Iran will face consequences" - 
SAHAFAT Urdu daily 
-- "Atomic weapons biggest threat for America: Obama" - 
HINDUSTAN EXPRESS Urdu daily 
-- "Obama warns Iran of consequences in his address" - 
AKHBAR-E-MASHRIQ Urdu daily 
-- "No mention of Middle East and Israel-Palestine 
problem in speech" - AKHBAR-E-MASHRIQ Urdu daily 
-- "Obama fights to recharge embattled presidency" - 
MORUNG EXPRESS English daily 
-- "Obama fears India, mounts pressure to stop 
outsourcing" ANANANDABAZAR PATRIKA Bengali daily 
 
OPINION 
 
¶12. As of yet, only a few opinion pieces have emerged 
based on the President's speech. Excerpts follow: 
"PAWNS OF PATRIOTISM," editorial in January 29 right- 
of-center Gujarati daily, MUMBAI SAMACHAR:  "President 
Obama's remarks are a living example of how even the 
 
NEW DELHI 00000181  004 OF 004 
 
 
most-modern, developed, liberal-thinking and freedom- 
loving nation like America can get edgy when things 
start getting worse.  Also Obama doesn't seem to have 
many options to regain his dipping popularity ratings 
other than raking up old issues which he did during his 
election campaign." 
 
¶13. "INDIA'S YOUTH POWER CAN PIP AMERICA," editorial in 
January 29 centrist Gujarati daily, DIVYA BHASKAR: 
"President Obama's remarks seem to be propelled by 
problems galore on the home front, resulting in his 
popularity graph dipping continuously...  His 
apprehensions about America slipping to number two 
position are an opportunity for India's youth to defeat 
the US in the global race through sheer intelligence 
and hard work." 
 
¶14. "OBAMA'S DREAM AND THE GENERAL REALITY," editorial 
in January 29 centrist Marathi daily, SAKAL: "President 
Obama's State of the Union Address shows how its own 
interests are over everyone else's for the U.S. The 
President wants to hit the reset button and put the 
U.S. economy back on the tracks. Encouragement to 
small-scale enterprise and rise in local jobs is 
priority number one for the president. Rise in 
employment levels is part of his idea of a superpower. 
He intends serious fiscal and tax reforms, though of 
course it is not clear if he is in a position to rein 
in the financial institutions which have ruined the 
economy so far." 
 
¶15. "ON STICKY WICKET," editorial in January 29 English 
daily, DECCAN HERALD:  "President Obama has made his 
first State of the Union address in a difficult 
political and economic environment when his popularity 
has sharply plunged. The message that he has sent out 
is a mixture of populism and hard talk which may boost 
his ratings but may not ultimately help the economy or 
lessen his political troubles.  He has concentrated on 
the domestic agenda and sidestepped most of America's 
problems abroad." 
ROEMER